Written by Diane Rein

This ring shows that you can make complex jewelry using simple techniques, tools and tricks – (and a little patience).

The Electric Birthday Cake Ring is a light-up ring made of fine silver clay. The candle flame was modeled from Jett Basic, which is semi-transparent so the light glows softly through it. Push down on the candle to turn it on, then push again to turn it off. The electronics are hidden inside the cake. The battery for the light can be changed by turning the cake counter clockwise to unlock it from the base.

I used a form for the cake, then “frosted” it with paste. All the roses were hand sculpted. All the leaves were modeled with a clay shaper. The draped bits were impressed with a clay scraper. I made a custom template for the platter. The shank is made with my Ring Shank Template. I used the AlphaDisc to impress “Happy Birthday” around the shank. The ring is a size 7.

Treat yourself to the tools and supplies you need to express your passions.

Written by Diane Rein

Cool Tools offers you a chance to check out some great finished jewelry made by some amazing artists. Currently the featured artists are Lisa Barth and Marco Fleseri.

Lisa Barth is a wire jewelry artist and metal clay instructor from Atlanta, Georgia. She teaches wire artistry and metal clay and absolutely loves sharing her passion for this art. In the Jewelry Design Gallery you’ll find an extensive selection of jewelry from Lisa Barth. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including BeadStyle, Bead & Button, Australian Beading, and Metal Clay Artist Magazine. Lisa draws her inspiration from the stone she is working with and recognizes the harmony needed between the metal and stone. In the Jewelry Design Gallery you can view several pieces by Lisa Barth and also visit her website for more inspiration.

Marco Fleseri began his career as a jewelry artist when he took a metalsmithing class in 1988. For 18 years he focused on traditional fabrication techniques. Marco became interested in metal clay and began focusing on it in 2005 using torch firing techniques. Marco gets his inspiration from an idea from machinery, history, biology, patterns, language, or color. His designs are mostly hand sculpted and has recently been using carving techniques. Marco occasionally teaches at the Lill Street Art Center in Chicago. In the gallery you will find a great selection of Marco’s work and his website information.

Both artists have beautiful pictures of jewelry featured with a variety of styles and designs.

Keep an eye on the Jewelry Design Gallery for more pictures and more featured artists. Cool Tools offers you access to these amazing pieces of metal clay jewelry.

Written by Diane Rein

Andrea Gorman of Oregon is the lucky winner in this month’s Random Review Drawing. Andrea has won the new PMC PRO Silver Alloy Clay! Congratulations Andrea!

Andrea was automatically entered into our monthly drawing when she reviewed a product on our website. We love when customers write reviews because it helps the whole community to make good choices and feel confident about the products we offer.

As a fun way to say “thank you” to those who take the time write a product review, share a tip or a photo of the work they have created with our products, we select a reviewer each month from those who have participated and they win something fabulous! Andrea wrote “Oh my gosh – I can hardly believe it! Thank you so much for just making my entire MONTH!! Today is also our son’s 5th birthday, so what an extra special day it is. Again, thank you.”

When you make a purchase at Cool Tools, you’ll receive an invitation to review that product in a follow-up email. Simply click the link to upload your comments and photos and a chance to win.

Product reviews submitted by the jewelry making community can be found by scrolling to the bottom of a product page. This is a great way to learn what others think about a product, pick up product tips and see what fellow jewelry artists are doing with their Cool Tools. So take a moment to share your thoughts, tips and creations with the jewelry making community and you may be the next lucky winner. Oh, and what are we giving away next month? This time, we aren’t telling, but you can be sure it’s going to be something very cool!

Written by Diane Rein

Thank you to everyone who posted pictures of their work for everyone to see!

The calendar giveaway was a huge success and we got some beautiful jewelry up on our wall. As promised, we shipped out the calendars for you to enjoy! We love nothing more than getting to share all the jewelry we work so hard on with others. So many beautiful pieces were shared over the past few weeks and we hope you enjoy the calendar showing some more beautiful jewelry! You’ll find work from 41 artists from all around the world inside. We always appreciate participation from our customers and continue to encourage communication from everyone!

Continue to inspire others with your creations and to keep sharing your work with us here at Cool Tools!

Written by Diane Rein

If you’ve fired metal clay in a stainless steel vessel, you know what a mess it makes. No-Flake Firing Foil won’t flake in your kiln leaving no mess and is perfect for firing any type of Metal Clay. This special alloy saves you time and money by saving your kiln. Make custom stainless steel firing boxes that fit you metal clay projects.

Want to learn how? Here at Cool Tools we have great videos showing you exactly how to make a custom no-flake firing pan for your personalized needs fast and easliy.

Written by Diane Rein

PMC PRO is a new type of silver metal clay that has the highest strength and most durability of any other metal clay available today. PMC PRO opens up a world of possibilities for metal clay jewelry making. Make intricate bracelets, rings and necklaces with delicate parts that won’t snap. Now you can roll your clay even thinner and never have to sacrifice strength. Once fired PMC PRO has more resistance to scratching, more tensile strength, and 5 times the bending strength of PMC 3.

The working properties of PMC PRO are very similar to other metal clays. While wet, it can still be impressed, molded, rolled and shaped into all the designs you can think of. All the same silver metal clay tools work for PMC PRO so you can start creating immediately. Discover more about what is possible with PMC PRO in our Learning Center.

We offer the best price for PMC PRO. Order now and it ships today. Find it only here at Cool Tools!